World Cup investing winners: Which companies are potential champions and which face defeat as country goes football crazy?

Football mad: Many people are going to spend their leisure time plonked on the sofa watching matches, rather than getting up to any of their usual activities

An awful lot of people are about to go football mad.

It only lasts a month, but while it's underway the World Cup is going to skew investor and consumer behaviour.

Trading in London markets has gone quiet already this week as the traditional summer lull sets in early in the run-up to the tournament.

And any company that does business direct with the public will be braced for a period when many people are going to spend their leisure time plonked on the sofa or down the pub watching matches, rather than getting up to any of their usual activities.

One of the largest bottlers and vendors of Coca-Cola’s products in the world, the FTSE 100-listed company could get a boost from the drink maker's status as a major sponsor of the World Cup, suggests White.

'The top level "partners" are companies with a large global presence and they will hopefully benefit from a boost in short-term sales and over the long term by building what advertising types call "brand equity". The partner with the biggest global reach is Coca Cola.'

He says Coca Cola HBC, which has operations in 28 countries, will issue its second quarter results in August and is likely to comment on any uplift in sales then.

The FTSE 100 maker of beverage cans has been investing significantly in its Brazilian operations and it should see a boost in that country and in its other markets as beer consumption rises, says White.

Brazilians favour different-sized drink cans from the rest of the world, but Rexam has the machines to produce these, he points out.

Electrical retailers tend to see an uplift in TV sales ahead of big football tournaments, says White,

'This is already happening, with John Lewis saying that TV sales had soared by 29 per cent in the week to May 10.This trend could benefit companies such as Dixons Retail and Argos, owned by Home Retail Group.'

But he adds that while Home Retail might benefit from increased business at Argos, its DIY chain Homebase is likely to see more subdued trading as people delay projects during the tournament.

It is difficult to predict the impact on low-cost airline easyJet, as booking activity in the short term will depend on when teams from big markets like England and Germany get kicked out of the tournament.

'Carolyn McCall, chief executive, told City analysts at a recent presentation that many people are holding off on booking holidays until they see how the tournament goes,' says White.

She thinks that generally the trend around World Cups is that people tend to stay and watch until their team exits, he reports.

But McCall also stressed that easyJet is in every major market in Europe that likes football, and therefore it's not dependent on one country exiting in order for booking patterns to become clearer.

White says: 'Germany will stay in for a while. Their sales will be slower. It's more likely there will be a surge in sales in England than in Germany.'

Host nation: Brazil is spending an estimated $11.5billion on staging the World Cup

What about World Cup host Brazil?

Brazil is spending an estimated $11.5billion (£6.9billion) on staging the World Cup. Unsurprisingly, the money being lavished on the tournament has become a focus for political unrest in a country mired in economic problems.

Michael Paul, investment analyst at wealth manager Brewin Dolphin, says his firm has got a negative view on Brazil, which has suffered about four years of very slow growth.

He reels off its main economic woes: growth averaging about 2 per cent, inflation running at 6.3 per cent, and an interest rate which had to be hiked up to 11 per cent to combat rising prices.

President Dilma Rousseff has seen her popularity decline since her election in 2010, although she remains the favourite to win the next poll this October.

Brazil's Bovespa stock market has been volatile this year, but recent gains have put it up 3 per cent so far in 2014. Nevertheless, it's still way off post-financial crisis highs hit in 2010.

Paul says the uplift is not down to anticipation of economic gains from the World Cup, but more because investors hope Rousseff's waning popularity could mean the election is won by a more reform-minded candidate.

'Dilma Rousseff has increased government spending and decreased taxes and tried to get inflation under control by structural supply-side initiatives [policies aimed at making an economy more efficient at supplying goods and services].

'Her popularity has been reducing. Protests centre on a very poor public transport system. They still pay high taxes but service is poor.'

Brand new: England will be playing in a 40,000-seat stadium in Manaus, a city in the Amazon rainforest

Meanwhile, Paul says much of the money spent on hosting World Cup appears to have been wasted, with football stadiums completed for the tournament while projects with more lasting economic benefit like roads and airports are still unfinished.

For instance, England will be playing in a brand new 40,000-seat stadium in Manaus, a city in the Amazon rainforest in northern Brazil.

But Paul points out: 'The region doesn't even have an amateur football team.'

Elsewhere in the country, the new airport terminal in Fortaleza is incomplete and passengers will have to use a tent.

Paul says history suggests hosting a World Cup usually has at least a temporary positive impact on the local market, but adds: 'There is a lot of negative sentiment around the country.

The trust has made losses of 23 per cent over the past three years, but manager Will Landers commented: ‘Brazil is Latin America’s biggest and most liquid stock market and despite the recovery in valuations, it is still one of the cheapest markets in the world.’